Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all

Time to go back in time

I like everyone else read a ton and watch as much You tube as I can get, sprinkle in Catch on line Magazine and we are all under siege with the latest nymph patterns and techniques, we run out and buy all the material and imitate the new methods of fishing them. During the last few weeks I have been trying them out with limited success, some of the new jig style patterns have shown promise, they seem not to get hung on the bottom as much, just need more time with them. Some of the newer patterns with hot spots seem to work well below Bellefonte in Spring Creek I think because of the high rainbow population but other spots not so much. Conclusion is don't get caught up with all the new stuff and forget your old stand buys, I went back to my old #16 scud pattern using carpet fibers that I blended and 5x mono ribbing over a shell back of 3 mm. plastic bag cut in strips on 5.5x with a BB shot about 6-8" above it, it still gets eaten fast.
  The only new thing that I have had a hard time getting used to is indicator's (bobbers if you will) I have tried them all and just hate the "Thingabobber" casting is a bitch and I really believe the fish are on to them with the splash they make, I have used dry droppers with good success but again casting them is a bitch, wait till you get one of those tangles that takes a new leader rebuild- not fun and your casting stroke just has to be very slow. The best thing I have found is the New Zealand wool indicator, it casts well does not make any noise upon entry and floats well BUT I find it is useful in only certain types of water, mid to tail outs of pools seem to be best for them, heavy riffs are a problem- if this is where you like to fish just use the old fashioned method of high stick folloing a colored leader section and watch the leader/water point for any movement- this is still the best way to fish nymphs on Penns- not pretty and not called anything sexy but dam effective.
  Don't give up on the new material, patterns and new methods of fishing them, most of all don't give up on what works for you.

Something to think about

OK you guys get sick of me talking about Spring Creek but if you have been there in the last few years and see just how much the stream is changing you to would be hard pressed to find another stream to compare the transformation it has undergone, witness the new wall in Bellefonte between The Veteran's and Lamb's Street bridges, stunning is the best words I can find. This area was nothing but abandoned industrial buildings with a mismatch of stream bank walls and with the hotel that burned a few years ago it looked bad, the trout were there big time due to the available feeding just above The Veteran's bridge by all the people in town, big trout! The PA Fish Comm. opened up this area a few years ago against some of us not wanting them to do it but it has drawn a ton of guys there and with the new construction this area is a show piece, ok what the heck does this have to do with anything, well once again The Spring Creek Chapter of TU was involved as an advisory body in choosing the wall design and the new walking path along the stream. Let me ask you who was involved in the design of Bull Run in Lewisburg near the new Giant, no one and I bet Dave Pearson is having a fit about that, at one point this stream had trout in it but do to poor management they are gone but could come back if a local organization would just give a shit and step up to the plate rather than planning the next stocking of White Deer, for heavens sake get involved and make some waves!

I'll fish when you guys hunt

Have not been fishing much during PA deer season because I just don't have a lot or orange to wear in order to alert those nuts who can not see the difference between a guy in waders and a deer! I did get out to Spring Creek a few times (this is a good bet because some locations are not in the line of fire like Penns would be)and guess what is going on - Olives, yes Olives, size 18 & 20's and the fish are on them big time. As I said many times this is not a stream wide event, you need to either know where they are from year to year or a good idea or go looking for them, it's not hard to do just drive and check the water to see if you spot any rising fish but remember Olives at this time of year tend to come in waves strong for a time then weak for a time (have no idea why this happens) when I say strong not like a Sulphur hatch but a good amount of the duns to get the fish up and at this time of year after spawning the fish eat well. All you need is a good pheasant tail nymph, olive emerger or a dark floating dun imitation to fool them BUT your presentation and float have to be spot on if not they will not even give you a second look, think down and across not up and over them, the water is low and the currents are tricky so be a sneaky bugger about your float, if they are in a good rhythm don't give them a long lead because they are high in the water and a long float will not help much and get the fly off the water when your past your target and back on the water- you can not catch fish by letting your float drift over nothing. This time of year does not tend to bring the big boys up but any time you can get 7" to 14" fish in the winter is a Christmas present- so bag the deer hunting and buy a cow to eat but do go fishing, if your on Penns or Big Fishing Creek wear a heck of a lot of orange!
  Have not seen any midge yet but may not have been in the proper locations!